$43m Trove of Chinese Porcelain to be Raised from Sea Floor

Portuguese salvagers plan to raise a huge trove of Chinese porcelain discovered in a shipwreck four years ago:

At the bottom of the ocean off Indonesia, a cargo of blue-and-white Chinese porcelain worth about $43 million has lain submerged for more than 400 years.

The 700,000 pieces — fine bowls, dishes and cups made during the reign of the Ming dynasty Emperor Wanli — were on a gigantic wooden junk that sank, possibly while en route for what is now Jakarta. Stacked 8 meters high in places, they are strewn over an area the size of an ice-hockey pitch, 60 meters below the surface and 150 kilometers from the coast. […]

The wreck was discovered in 2008, and 38,000 pieces of porcelain were recovered during an initial operation in 2010.

Shipwrecked China Worth $43 Million To Be Fished From Sea (Bloomberg)